AtomicMrX

I got my W2 from work on Friday and also got TurboTax Home & Business 2007 in the mail the same day. So Friday night I dug deep into the tax information and completed it by 10:00 PM. I got all my SadlerDesign stuff organized and all the tax stuff together so I’m good for another year now.

I thought that doing my taxes myself rather than using a “tax guy” like I have in the past three years I would save money. Well I think it cost the same amount! I was very disappointed! I think next year I will do the TurboTax Online version rather than the desktop CD version that I did this year. I think they give you a discount on the e-filing which is were I got burned since I have to do two States and one Federal (I work in Kansas but live in Missouri - makes tax time a little confusing).

I took Jaki to get her toe nails trimmed on Wednesday and on the way home I stopped for some fast food and in the drive through she decided it would be cute to do a flip while in the front seat (and I was trying to restrain her from the food). So later that night when Shannon got off work and she stepped out from her heated kennel/bed she yelped three times in a half hour. Luckily I have some of her back pain pills left over from the last occurrence (which was back in October of 2006). She is doing fine now. Luckily we got her the pain pills quickly before too much inflammation caused more pain and a longer healing time. Poor little thing! She just doesn’t understand she can’t go crazy and stuff like she did when she was young and without a back injury.

I got my Tags in the mail today so I will have legal plates to drive with before they expire in February. I was kind of cutting it close to the deadline with mailing them to me and all. Whew!

I cleaned up the office this morning and it feels so much better. It was becoming a cluster of piles. Pile here, pile there. Another pile on top of another pile, etc. I guess doing the taxes kind of brought out the cleaning spree. I had to dig to find things and that is just not cool!

I finally got my Birthday present from Shannon - The Wii Zapper! It actually came last Friday but I just was too tired all week to post a blog article so I’m just getting to it now. It is really cool and fun. I think I’ll go play some right now!

I came across this cool meme at This Boy Elroy who in turn got it from Just A Dude Talking About Life. Here’s what you need to do:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
   The first article title on the page is the name of your band.
2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
   The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
   The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Combine steps one, two, and three and you have just created an album.

Here is my creation:

I think their music would be very industrial trance - real edgy like. My kind of group!

I got some scratcher cards from Karen along with some Zim’s Crack Creme (the best in the world!) since I lost mine or it got stolen at work - don’t know which.

Shannon is short on money so my birthday gift from him will be a week late. I also know what it is because I told him I wanted it (Wii Zapper). But he is out of money until the 9th so the gift will be a little late and that’s okay - I can wait!

Shannon and I went to Sweet Tomatoes to eat dinner and use up another Birthday coupon. I really like their food! It is so fresh! Shannon always takes too much food to possibly eat it all and ends up hiding the leftovers under another plate or napkins.

After Dinner Shannon had to go check on his employees to make sure they closed up shop correctly and I check my email. Then we sat and watched some television for the rest of the evening.

In all it was a good birthday - very calm and relaxing.

Happy 88th Birthday Dad!

I was born on my Dads birthday and I am 45 today!

I got a really great card from Shannon before work this morning. My co-workers are treating me to a lunch today. I have even more treats at work today. Mary brought some pastries from Mc Lain’s and I got some breads from another co-worker.

I’ll keep everyone posted as the events unfold today.

Friday night Shannon and I went to Houlihan’s in Lee’s Summit and had a great dinner. I joined their Birthday club so we got to use a buy one entree and get a second free coupon. We started with Calamari. Shannon had a French Dip and I had a Jumbo Fried Shrimp dinner. They have $1.99 deserts that are suppose to be a few bites. So I got the Pecan Pie thingy and it was larger than two pieces of pie. I was already a little full so I was hopping for a few bites size not few slices size. Shannon helped with one bite. It was good.

Then on Saturday night I went out with Jim, Karen and Jan to Sakura. I just love their sushi! This was Jan’s first time eating sushi and she was very uncomfortable with the “raw” idea. We told Jan there are plenty of cooked versions of sushi she could enjoy. It didn’t help Jan had a migraine but I think she enjoyed the sushi. Karen tried several kinds and really enjoyed it. Jim and I were going to have our traditional Spider Roll but they were out of Soft Shell Crab so they couldn’t make it. On the other hand they had plenty of my favorite - Unagi!

Afterwards, Jim and I went for coffee at Broadway Cafe. Jim had a Latte and I had a Chai Tea. We sat and talked for a good while.

Sunday morning I was delighted to eat one of the Dutch pastries my Mom & Dad sent me from Pella, Iowa for my Birthday. They come from a Dutch bakery called Jaarsma. My folks have been getting Dutch Letters from them for years. They have a flaky exterior and an almond paste filling that is just fantastic.

Well, Monday January 7th is my actual Birthday and I will be turning 45. I think I’ve had a lot of special birthday events already so far. I was born on my Dad’s birthday and he will be turning 88. Happy Birthday Dad!